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Oddities and questions re Retrospect Express HD for Windows


montereyham

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I just recently got a Maxtor OneTouch II 300GB external hard drive to attach (via USB 2) to my new Dell Dimension 9100 running Win XP Pro. I've been experimenting on whether to use duplicate or restore points, and have decided to use both for now. I assume that I can do that since they're kept in separate folders on the Maxtor. I'll back up a duplicate from time to time, but mostly leave Retrospect Express HD set for the restore point style, since that does automatic backups.

 

1. When I launch REHD, whether from the Maxtor icon on the desktop or by double clicking the little icon in the system tray, it takes 1 minute 15 seconds to launch. This is amazing to me: even very large programs launch within a few seconds. I take it that the "Express" doesn't refer to the launch time.

 

2. Right now, since I just made a duplicate, it says that it wil duplicate files, but to click Setup to make changes. I do click Setup. Nothing happens, though the button itself responds to the click. Has the program crashed or stalled, or is this something that takes 20 minutes or so to respond? (In all fairness, clicking Restore doesn't do anything either.)

 

3. In making duplicates, it would be very nice if there were a progress bar so that I could estimate how much longer it will run and also be able to see when the duplicate is complete. Right now there is absolutely no sign that the duplicate has been made. (I listen carefully to see whether I can hear the hard disk, but this seems really primitive.) What's up with that?

 

The idea of the program is good, on the whole, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Any answers or ideas regarding the three points above?

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Okay, I think I've solved it. When I did my first backups, when all went well, I was backing up only My Documents. Then I decided to back up Documents and Settings, which includes My Documents but other files as well.

 

When REHD started acting funny (see above), I decided to make a backup using the Windows XP backup program (All Programs, Accessories, System, Backup). That went fine (AND IT USES A PROGRESS BAR!). At the end, it said it had backed up everything but some skipped files. I looked at the report, and the skipped files were files in use by Norton Internet Security (a program, BTW, that has caused countless problems and that tomorrow I will remove).

 

So, I thought: maybe REHD was stymied because it couldn't get those files backed up. I exited it (right-clicked on system tray icon and clicked Exit), then restarted the computer. This time, no delays at all in launching, and the setup button worked immediately when clicked.

 

I tried a duplicate backup, and it went well--but for Pete's sake, let's have a progress bar, guys, or at the very least some indication when the process is complete. Just having the initial start screen remain unchanged throughout is bush league.

 

So, problem solved: I will occasionally make a duplicate, just so I can see the files in Windows Explorer, but mostly will do restore point backups.

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